Quaking-grass destroyer.



I P. MEYER.

QUAKING GRASS DESTROYEB.

APPLIQATION nun P312, 1910.

1,018,51 3. Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLAN'OGHAPH cu..w/\snmu1'on u. c.

P. MEYER. QUAKINGGRASS DESTROYER.'

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 2, 1910 Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

PETER MEYER, OF CALMAR, IOWA.

QUAKING-GRASS DESTROYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

Application filed February 2, 1910. Serial No. 541,496.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PETER MEYER, citizen ofthe United States, residing at Calmar, in the county of Winneshiek andState of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inQuaking-Grass Destroyers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to means for destroying all kinds ofvegetation and life of every kind on land with special reference to thedestruction of quaking-grass that is so exceedingly destructive to thegrowth of any other grasses or seeded grains in the same field, and myobject is to provide a simple means whereby a portion of the uppersurface of the soil is cut or removed and then pulverized and afterwardsubjected to the action of heat till all life is destroyed.

In what it consists, the mode of construction and manner of operationwill be fully set out in the following specification when taken inconnection with the drawings accompanying the same and forming a parthereof.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation through line mm of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is aplan view. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the trays and the burners forapplying heat to the vegetation as it passes over the trays. Figs. 4 and5 are perspective views of the plow or scoop taken in differentpositions.

Referring to the drawings, 2 represents the side bars, which with thecross bar 4, constitute the lower frame of the machine, which issustained on axles 5, 6 and 8 and carried by the wheels 10, 12, and 14,constituting the carriage on which the operating mechanism hereinafterto be described is situated. To the front axle 5 is mounted a plow orscoop 16 by the beam 18. On the axle is set the drivers seat 20 andthere is also secured to said axle a tongue 22 to which the team orpower to operate the same is attached. There is further pivoted on theaxle a lever 24 which is attached to the plow 16, and by which the plowis raised and lowered. The plow is constructed with the land side 25 andthe shear 26 which is formed into a concave mold-board 28 at its rearend. To the end 28 is connected an elevator 30. The elevator is made ofendless belts 32, preferably of rubber canvas or other flexiblematerial, which belts pass over rollers 34 and 35 at the base, and at'the top rollers 37 and 36.

In order to maintain the incline and prevent 1t from sagging andclogging, there are set up on the frame 2, uprights 38 to which aresecured rollers 40 and 41. The canvas,

all of the earth that is delivered into the hopper.

At the base of the hopper is loosely suspended a tray 52 by the hangers54, pivoted to a cross bar 55. The cross bar 55 is secured in the mainframe 56 of the machine which rests upon and is attached to the sidebars 2. The tray 52 is provided with perforations 58 and 60. Theperforations 58 are considerably larger than the perforations 60 for thepurposes presently to appear. This tray is surrounded on three sides bya frame 62, and at the lower end with a trough or chute 64. This tray 52is given a jigging or oscillating motion. Beneath the tray 52 is alsosuspended another tray constructed in substantially the same manner asthe tray 52, but preferably with uniform perforations 66.

This

tray is also provided with a chute 68 and is suspended from the crossbar 55 by thehangers 54. It is also given the same jigging motion as thetray 52. Beneath the tray 65 is suspended a trailing conveyer 70 by thehangers 7 2' secured to the cross bar 74, also secured'in the main frame56. The conveyer is provided with the side pieces and has the samejigging mot-ion as the other trays but no perforations through the base.The depending portions of the frame 56 at each side of the trays areprovided with rods 7 8- and 84 on which are pivotally mounted the,

levers 76 and 82, respectively, connected by link 80. The upper ends ofthe levers are connected to and are adapted to oscillate the trays 52and 65 and the lower end of lever 82 is connected to and adapted tooscillate the conveyer 70, the rod 85 connecting the lever 82 to theoperating means.

On the frame 2 are set two 011 or gasolene tanks 86, one on each side towhich are connected pipes 88. There is connected to the pipe 88 theburner pipes 90, 91 and 92 provided with the jets 94 by which the grass,the seeds and other life are destroyed while passing over the tray 52.There is also a similar pipe 95 which conveys the gasolene to the pipes96, 97 and 98- that supply the gasolene to the burners upon the lowertray 65.

The mode of operating my device whereby I accomplish the end sought issubstantially as follows. Power is applied to the tongue 22. This may beby an ordinary team or by a traction engine, and as the car is startedthe plow will commence to shave off preferably about four-inches of theupper part of the land and carry it back and deliver it upon theelevator 30 between the rollers 34 and 35 and the canvas 32, and by thiselevator it is carried up between the rollers 86 and 37 and dumped intothe hopper 44. From the hopper it passes down between the crushingrollers 45 and 46 and between the lower roller 48 where it is thoroughlypulverized. From there it passes down into the upper tray 52 and as thistray has a jigging or oscillating motion by power that is applied to theshaft 85, through the shaft 78 and the links 76, the coarser portion ofthe mass will pass through the perforations 58, and the finer throughthe perforations 60, thus separating the seeds and earthy portion of themass from the fibrous and leaving the fibrous portion upon the tray 52and some of the larger portions that cannot pass through theperforations 58. The mass that does not pass through the perforations iscarried down under the burners 94 and there all of the fibrous part ofthe mass is reduced to ashes, and the seeds in the grass that have notfallen throu h the perforations are also subjected to su icient heat todestroy the life. This burned portion then passes on and into the chute64 and since this chute is set at an angle it will deliver the burnedmass over on to the end of the conveyer 70. The earthy portion of themass that has been screened through the perforations of different sizesin the tray 52 passes down into the lower tray 65, which tray isperforated and has the same motion as the tray 52. The mass there isalso subjected to the action of the heat of the burners upon the tubes98, and then part passes through the perforations of said tray 65 ontothe conveyer and the coarser portion is delivered over the chute 68 ontothe end of the conveyer 70. The portion such as the finer seeds thathave been sifted through the perforations in the tray 65, drops onto thetray 7 0 and then it passes over the end of the conveyer onto the groundfrom whence it was taken. It will be seen by this mode of constructionand operation that about four to eight inches in .depth, which would besufficiently deep to destroy most of the roots and seeds, will besubjected to intense heat and life will be entirely destroyed and theland put in condition for seeding.

Having now described my invention what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. In a device of the class described, a tray provided with perforationsof various size through the bottom of the tray for separating thefibrous and larger particles of material from the mass, in combinationwith means for delivering the material to the tray, means for impartingmotion to the tray, andmeans for burning upon the tray the fibrousportion from which the other portion of the mass has been separated.

2. In a device of the class described, a tray set at an angle andprovided with perforations in the bottom of the tray of larger size atthe upper end of the tray and smaller size toward the lower end, incombination with means for delivering the material to the tray, meansfor imparting an oscillating motion to the tray, burners adapted toattack and burn the fibrous portion of the material upon the tray fromwhich the other portions of the mass have been separated, and means forsupplying fuel to the burners.

3. In a device of the class described, atray loosely suspended on anincline, in combination with means for delivering the material to thetray, means for imparting a shaking motion to the tray, means connectedwith the tray adapted to separate the fibrous material from theremaining portions of the mass on the tray, and burners adapted to burnthe fibrous material from which the balance of the mass has beenseparated on the tray while the tray is in motion.

4. In a device of the class described, an upper tray provided withopenings of varying size through the bottom of the tray, in combinationwith means for delivering the material to the tray, a second traybeneath the first provided with openings, means for imparting motion toboth of the trays, means for burning the fibrous material on the surfaceof the upper tray after the remaining portion of the mass has beenseparated therefrom, and means for subjecting the upper surface of thematerial on the lower tray to the action of heat.

5. In a device of the class described, an upper tray provided withperforations of different size, in combination with means for deliveringthe material to the tray, a second tray set beneath the first, means fordestroying by flame the fibrous portion of the material upon the uppertray, and means for destroyin the life in the remainder of ilzlhe masson t e lower tray by the action of eat.

6. In a device of the class described, an upper tray provided withopenings, in com: bination with means for delivering the ma terial to beseparated to the tray, a second tray set beneath the upper tray, meansfor imparting motion to both of the trays, means for consuming thefibrous parts of the mass upon the upper tray, and means for subjectingthe remainder of the mass separated from the fibrous portion of the massto the action of heat on the lower tray.

7. In a device of the class described, a tray provided with openingsvarying in size, in combination with means for delivering the materialto the tray, a second tray set beneath the first, means for impartingmotion to both trays, burners adapted to attack and burn the fibrousportion of the mass on the first tray, and burners adapted to attack anddestroy the life on the lower tray in the unburned portion of the massreceived from the upper tray and thereby also heat the base of the uppertray.

8. In a device of the class described, an upper tray provided withperforations and set at an angle, in combination with means fordelivering the material to the tray, a second perforated tray suspendedbeneath the upper tray, means for burning the fibrous material on theupper tray, means for subjecting to the action of heat the upper surfaceof the material upon the second tray received from the upper tray, aconveyer beneath the second tray adapted to receive the burned materialfrom the second tray, and means for imparting motion to both trays andconveyer.

9. In a device of the class described, an upper tray provided withperforations of different size, in combination with means for deliveringthe material to the tray,

means for burning the fibrous part of the material on the upper tray, asecond tray suspended beneath the upper tray and pro vided withperforations, means for subjecting to the action of heat the uppersurface of the material upon the second tray, a conveyer suspendedbeneath the second tray, connections between the second tray and theconveyer, and means for imparting motion to the trays and conveyer fordistributing the burned material from the conveyer onto the ground fromwhence it was taken.

10. In a device of the class described, an upper tray set at an inclineand provided with perforations larger at the upper end and smaller atthe lower end, in combination with means for delivering the material tothe tray, a second tray beneath the first provided with openings, meansfor burning the fibrous material on the upper tray after the remainderof the mass has been separated from the fibrous material, burners forburning on the lower tray the unburned mass received from the uppertray, a conveyer beneath the lower tray adapted to receive the burnedmass from the lower tray and deliver it to the ground, means forsupplying fuel to the burners on both of the trays, and means forimparting motion to both the trays and conveyer.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER MEYER.

WVitnesses M. M. CADY, E. M. NOONAN.

Copies of this patent may' be obtained for five cents each, by;addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

